Shoe protector



Jan. 20, 1953 K. M. KEMP 2,625,752

SHOE PROTECTOR Filed March 14, 1950 (J INVENTOR. fife 4 BY Kl us M Kemp AT RNEY Patented Jan. 20, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOE PROTECTOR Klaus M. Kemp, Santa Barbara, Calif.

Application March 14, 1950, Serial No. 149,547

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates to removable shoe protectors and has particular reference to an inexpensive fabric shoe protector that may be employed by painters and the like to prevent paint and other materials from falling on the shoes.

I am aware that a large number of shoe protectors have been designed and patented, and from time to time these have had limited use. However, these prior devices have been so complicated in construction that they are too expensive for widespread use, and the more simply constructed protectors have not been satisfactory. For example, steel frames have been used on some protectors to maintain the shape and for attachment to the shoe. Others have required that nails be driven into the shoe to retain the protectors in place. Still others have employed spring clamps to hold the protector in place.

I have discovered that by properly selecting the fabric or other material, sewing this material with special reinforcements, and forming it to a selected shape, a very satisfactory shoe protector may be achieved that is inexpensive, devoid of spring frames and clamps and may be quickly applied to any type of shoe by simple tie cords. The result is a fairly rigid protector that, permits the wearer to flex and bend his shoe, while the protector will hinge above but will not bend. Maximum protection is afforded from paint and the like, without the discomfort of impeding the flexing of the shoes.

The semi-rigid or rigid construction of my shoe protector makes possible the application thereon of advertising material, such as for paint, paint brushes, and the like as is commonly applied to painters caps. Because of the fact that the protector does not bend, this intelligence thus printed or applied remains legible at all times and therefore maintains its maximum advertising value.

It is a general object of my invention to provide an improved type of shoe protector.

Another object of my invention is to provide an inexpensive and readily attachable shoe protector that can be quickly attached and quickly removed.

Still another object is to provide a shoe protector that is semi-rigid in construction and permits the shoe to flex underneath it.

. Still a further object is to provide a shoe protector that maintains its shape without flexing and which has one or more panels thereon to receive advertising material.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent in the following description and claim considered together with the accompanying drawings forming an integral part of this specification, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of my shoe protector as applied to the shoe and foot of a user;

. Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the protector along the line 11-11 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the protector of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a side view on a reduced scale showing the action of my protector during flexing of the users shoe.

Referring to the drawings, my invention may be applied to a shoe in placed on a foot II including an ankle portion l2. My protector may be designated generally by the numeral l4 and may have the general shape of an inverted scoop. The protector accordingly may be described as having a body portion [5, an endwall [6, a horizontal rim I! having substantially a U-shape, and a mouth portion [8 similar to an inverted U. The endwall l6 encloses the toe end of the shoe as illustrated in Fig. 4 and the rim I! is closely adjacent to the edges of the sole of the shoe.

The endwall 16 may be formed from a flat piece of material by forming a series of pleats or tucks I9 to gather or pucker the material. This creates a box toe efiect on the protector.

The top part of the protector Hi (the bottom of the scoop before inverting) may be provided with a longitudinal reinforcement or rib 20 which may include a length of cording 2| retained in place by sewing it as at 22 in a fold 23 of the body member [5. This rib 20 prevents transverse bending folds or wrinkles from developing and should extend near the endwall I6 to cover the portion of the shoe that normally flexes or bends.

The rim I1 is preferably reinforced as by a rib 24 to give it more stability of position and to retain the horizontal U-shape of the rim. This ribbing or welt may have a length of cording 25 sewn into the material. Also this ribbing is important due to the action it imparts to the tie cord securing means. Referring especially to Fig. 3, it will be noted that a tie tape 26 may be secured to the rim l1 adjacent to the mouth end l8 of the scoop shape A similar cord or tape may be secured to the other side as illustrated at 26a in Fig. 4.

If the tie tapes were secured precisely at the ends of the rim H, the welting or ribbing would be pulled in by the tie cords and cause the rim to snugly engage the edges of the shoe. The stiffening action of the ribbing is accentuated howevenby spacing the tie cords or tapes from the end of the rim to obtain the leverage effect of the rim ends being pulled against the shoe edges. This spacing may be as small as A." and as great as 1 inches to obtain this leverage effect. If spacedmuch more than an inch from the end, the cords pass over the. sole of the shoe and tend to be worn by abrasion and this constitutes the upper limit of spacing.

The tie cords may be crossed under the arch of the shoe to engage the corner of the heel on the opposite side from which the cordsv are, secured. They then may pass diagonally rear- Wardly to the back of the heel from whencethey may be brought forwardly to tie in the front of the ankle as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 4. The crossing action under the arch together with the application of tension causes the protector to snugly'engage the shoe, preventing loose or protruding ends that detract from, appearance or cause tripping. These cords or tapes are quickly used and are much superior to snaps, buttons, and hooks which must be adjusted to shoes and feet of different sizes.

To use the protector of my invention, the wearer merely places the toe of, his shoe on a chair, step or other convenient prominence, places the protector over the toe, crosses the tapes under the shoe arch, crosses them in back of the heel and ties them on the front of the ankle. No other fastener is required as the two. tapes secure the protector laterally of the foot as well as lengthwise. Thereis no. snap-ping or placing of special fasteners and the. entire procedure is simple and fast. The top of the mouth i8 is pulled'by the cords, against. the shoe.

The. top ribbing preventsthe protector from bending and thus the original shape is maintained- If bending. were to occur the. front or box end 15' of the protector would eventually be bent upwardly so much: that the shoe would not be adequately protectedv and in addition the apearance would be poor. This stiffening action of the rib is illustrated in Fig. 4 wherein it will be noted that the shoe. may freely flex and bend under'the protector.

When the usersfoot flexes as illustrated. in Fig. l, the protector does not bend and instead hinges upwardly: about the point where the top of the mouth 18 engages the. shoes. Even for snugly tied protectors, there will be some motion at this point at the region. of the cords attachment. The shoes thus freely bends. and is protected all the while by the unbending protector. When the shoe again assumes a fiat position,.the pull of the cords combined with the apex contacting the ankle region returns the protector to the position of Fig. 1.

The non-bending characteristic. of. my protector makes it desirable. for the. application of printed matter, such as paint advertisements, identification names, etc. Also by reference to Fig. 2 it will be noted that the body portion to the left of the rib 21 is greater than that to the right or inside of the foot. This is due to the fact that the panel covering the outer part of the shoe is larger than that covering the inner part since I prefer to make my protectors in right and left pairs although a standard model could be designed for use on either foot. This therefore provides a wide panel that is substantially flat, and there is illustrated in Fig. 1 the use of paint advertising on this flat panel. My protector accordingly is very desirable as an advertising medium in much the same way as cloth caps used by painters. By employing my protect-or, a painter may wear any type of shoe he desires since they will not become paint marked.

I prefer at present to make my protector from a. fabric material and have found that #6 Army duck, also known as 22 oz. duck, is quite satisfactory. This material is unsized and maintains its stiifness indefinitely. This heavy weight material shapes up well, especially around. the tucks 19. Also, it forms a major part of the strength of the top beading or ribbing or welting. Other materials would undoubtedly be satisfactory also. For example, various of the flexible but nonpliant plastics would'servewell; such as, unplasticizedvinyl chloride or other vinyl co-polymers. Dense, strong cardboard of the type used for printing mats would likewise be satisfactory. Presumably also, the protector could be molded. For these reasons; I do not limit myself to the fabric material illustrated.

I have used heavy paper welting cord to form the top rib and for stiffening the bottom rim ll. While this is satisfactory other types could be used including coiled steel springs, vegetable fibre, cords, etc. Also the top rib and the bottom rim could be reinforced by means other than Welting; for example, by spring metal strips riveted to the material.

I therefore include within the scope of the following claim all such modifications as come Within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

A protector adapted to be placed over a shoe comprising: a body member formed of stiff nonpliant but flexible sheet material; permanent tucks sewn therein to define. a scoop shape having an end wall at the tucks and a mouth opposite the end wall; means for securing the protector over a shoe; an outwardly disposed fold substantially midway between the sides of the protector and extending from the end toe portion to near the open mouth end; and a cord member sewn within the said fold so that the. protector will not bend at its top portion during flexing, of the shoe, the seam which holds the cord member within the fold also holdin the fold.

KLAUS M. KEMP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 107,538 Prall Sept; 20, 1870 1,053,555 Berg Feb. 18, 1913 1,382,748 Slasor June 28, 1921 2,420,618 Rabinovitz May 13, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date.

4,784/02 Great Britain Feb. 25, 1903 26/401/03 Great Britain Oct. 13, 1904 

